Vases

I thought this might lead to an interesting discussion.
What do you like to use?
Do you have a collection of anything?

My daughter and I have done various events centerpieces; for example last spring we did a fund raiser dinner and the theme was western, we used various old tins like some of the old metal coffee tins or bag balm cans etc. It turned out pretty well. I remember we wanted to use old enamel ware coffee pots but we didn't have enough and they were actually too large for a table but we used a few as accents around the room.

I do have a small collection of white matte all various shapes and sizes vases. I look for bargains in these.

So I would love to hear some of your projects and what flowers you used.
My niece's wedding is in late August. I am planting lots of zinnias and I have dahlias. Would love to hear your suggestions.

I have collected vases and containers for many years. i used to have a kiln and bought greenware in designs I liked and glazed and fired them

I was taught to use a container that repeated the color of some of the flowers used in the arrangement, or use white or black, considered non-colors. green also works well as a color. for container.
I also have a lot of wood slab bases for container to sit on and other bases. Bases are quite important in displaying flower designs.

I am just always on the lookout for bargains...the best I have found are on the clearance table of Smith and Hawkins....they always have the great copper and aluminum containers left over that maybe had paperwhites in them that didn't sell. The next best place is Tuesday Mornings, a discount store....or TJ Max, etc.
I helped my cousin with a wedding last year and we used that little square clear vase you see with the clear rocks...on top we taped clear tape to create 9 openings. In each opening we placed a small white rose.....we used as many as we needed depending on the size of the tables. Now I always make sure I have plenty of those available in every square size of vase possible.
Plus, I love to use big round clear bowl shaped vases to put giant heads of bomby celosia (another fantastic summer cut). The stems need to be short so that the entire top of the flowers create another round circle.
Because I love cutting flowers, i keep lots of vases I am willing to also give away...you can find them in dollar stores and all discount stores...those little sqaure vases like the one in the picture was 1.50 each.
Ignore the not so attractive dried flowers...just want you to know that I keep that size and these wonderful bigger sizes in copper that I found.
I can't hang around....wish I could and keep watching and posting, but too much to do this week...
I like your question and perhaps others knowing more than me will step up...
gail

Yes, the dollar store is a great place for vases you are willing to give up. I love using all sorts of materials but am especially fond of my white matte ones. I only have about 10. I will try take a pix and post it. No guarantees though as saving the photos in the computer is not my cup of tea.

I've been collecting vases and container for the past couple years now. All shapes and sizes.....although I am pickey about colour.
And like Rutholive said in her post, the container should always compliment the blooms in it, such an example would be if you put a bunch of Stargazer and Casablanca lilies in a formal white vase, it would like nice but someone might ask you where the casket is (here they're ALWAYS used for funerals) but then again if you put them in somthing like a nice colbalt blue jug which is a little less formal, it would brighten them up and show them in a whole new light!
I really do love cutting and arranging flowers, so I hope what I share is helpful :)

So arranging flowers and choosing the right vase and flowers together is really an art form. I certainly would say so. I guess when you come to think of it; gardening in itself is an art form too. Where to plant what is science in a sense too.

What a great forum! I am also a container collector. Basically, anything that can hold water or wet floral foam has potential. My favorite at this time of year is a 14" frosted murano glass (eBay) vase (traditional anfora type shape) in a very vibrant shade of yellow with just the slightest suggestion of green in the undertone. I wait all winter to dig it out and arrange Forsythia branches with Mounthood daffodils and hosta leaves. I love using Hosta leaves in floral design and have been doing so since I was a child -- Mom was not so happy back then about my cutting her hosta leaves though :-). Don't know if I'll get to enjoy this arrangement this year since the daffodils were largely ruined by our crazy warm winter and sudden cold snap.

Hi, I'm new here, great forum! I left behind a large collection of vases when we retired, and now just starting to accummulate some - still need more. I am a gardener and love to pick from my garden to fill vases. I like to have various shapes, heights, and colors to go with different flowers.

I had a pretty large variety of glass (clear, art, colored), ceramic, Japanese, and some unusual containers (bark, baskets, etc.). Now, living within a 1/2 day's drive to a very well-known Mexican copper town, I do have a few copper vases and love them! They have the darker, not shiny, finish. We are nearly done with a big house rebuilding project, and have been living in the guest house (casita) for a year and a half, so no extra space! It will be about 2 weeks until we move in, and then I plan to go one day to a crafts town where there are a lot of hand blown glass vases and pick up a few sizes and colors. I'll have display space in the new house too, so am looking forward to making arrangements once again.

Those are beautiful, oceangirl. Oh, I love em, I have a couple of little green thingys that remind of those a little. I have found that shape just a bit hard to arrange in though. Do you try to make your flowers follow the shape/line of that vase?

Wonderful collection there oceangirl, I love the fiesta looking pottery ones. the creamy color one would fit really well into my collection of matte white ones. LOL I will see if my dd will help me with a photo later today.

What I am looking for are "frogs" These are inserts you place in vases to help arrange flowers (if you are not using foam). I have a glass one, and as a child, I remember people using wire ones. I have also seen things that look like they have sharp needles that are placed at the bottom of vases (not really interested in these)

Does anyone know a source for these "frogs" (refers to a clasp - not the animal).

I know what you are talking about seandor, I have a couple, a clear one and a transparent green glass one. They are very collectible. http://www.bullworks.net/ffg/ffg.html
Might be something interesting there.

I would imagine so maybe you just have to watch garage sales and such. I did see ebay had some listed when I googled and found the other site. Just google flower frogs and see what you can find. Until I looked at the site I linked for you I hadn't realized the elaborate looking frogs.

Gee, I hate using ebay - it's so cumbersome. I just want to order them and have them. It's weird that I can't go to a local dept. store and pick some up. I may have to resort to ebay. I have a glass one with about 16 holes (never counted). But I would like several more.

I collect earthenware pitchers and little chaep tea pots at resale shops. I pick up all big clear vases at garage sales to display my bouquets at the Farmers Market. Usually I can pick those up for 10-15 cents each so if the customer wants the vase too,no big lose.

If I have a garden or country themed party,I save my 3 lb coffee cans and spray paint them to look like splatterware.

Sounds great, bigred, I too, have picked those big clear vases up from garage sales and if they go as you say, then it ok. But we don't get them for 10 or 15 cents more like 50 or $1.00. I have used tea pots too.
Last year for a tea where I hosted a table our theme was vintage and my centerpiece was an old silver evening bag with a little bowl inside with the purse where the flowers came out of and then we draped a string of freshwater pearls around the purse with a pair of white gloves and a tube of lipstick. Really turned out cute.

In the fall we like to carve out a small pumpkin for the vase with a jar inside to hold the flowers.

It is a real cabbage, I cut out a circle in the middle and a small round floral foam piece was placed in then the flowers added . It was a bit of fun! This thread is great, I love doing floral art and have
collected quite a few containers , my greenhouse is filling up with vases, pots and baskets!

Yes it holds water and the amaizing thing is it didn't even smell like rotten cabbage when I took the flowers out! As for the plants I don't heat up the greenhouse (only when I'm in it) or keep anything tender
over the winter, my garden has lots of perennial plants which I prefer to grow,less work!! I mainly use my greenhouse to sow veg for my allotment and annuals for the garden. The rest of the time it's my workshop for floral art.
this is what it looked like in the spring

I have heard of pumpkins for fall arrangements and using cabbage hollowed out as a bowl with a salad or dip in it but a vase, very clever and such a pretty vase. Gosh, you could all kinds of things, eggplant and coordinate purple flowers. Lots of great ideas, terriculture.